The invention is based on an apparatus for transferring flat blanks, in particular foldable boxes, from a delivery station to a receiving station, as hereinafter. In an apparatus of this type known for instance from German Patent 25 47 132 and European Patent Document A 1 34 628, two diametrically opposed suction cups revolve on a triangular cycloid path, which has three reversal points with concave arcs between them. This curved path is generated in that the spacing of the suction cups to the axis of rotation of the rotor carrying them is twice the eccentricity of the crank carrying the rotor, and the gear ratio between the sun wheel and the planet wheel is 3:2. The apparatus is disposed such that one reversal point of the triangular cycloid path points downward, and the receiving station, for instance a horizontally extending conveyor chain with carriers in a box-making machine, is associated with this downward-pointing reversal point. The delivery station, which belongs to a supply magazine for the flat articles to be transferred, is associated with one of the other two reversal points of the cycloid path, such that the face end of the magazine and thus the plane of the forwardmost article to be taken is located transversely to the direction of motion of a suction cup at the reversal point, or in other words is disposed at an angle of 60.degree. from the horizontal.
Although the known apparatuses may be used for transferring foldable boxes, they have some disadvantages. One substantial disadvantage is that the magazine for the supply of foldable boxes extends above the conveyor path of the erected folded boxes, or in other words above the working region of the box-making machine. This makes monitoring and continuous loading with foldable boxes possible only in the face of obstacles. Moreover, slippage of the foldable boxes in the magazine because of its 30.degree. obliquity is not always certain, which can lead to disruptions of the machine. Moreover, particularly in the apparatus of German Patent 25 47 132, there is only a very brief period of time available to erect the foldable boxes during their transfer from the magazine to the conveyor apparatus of the box-making machine.